It's not a rose
by ro-sham-bo211
Summary: Set after My other left foot season one. read to find out the shipping. Kate talks about her tattoo. You decide what the tattoo is. COMPLETE! Ch 3: A Wedding, Reception and an announcement.
1. It's not a rose

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or its characters.

This is told from Kate's POV

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All of this commotion started when someone found a leg of a Marine with a tattoo. Without thinking, I slipped up and told Tony that I have a tattoo. And all while working the case, he would not stop pestering me about it.

When Gibbs and I were heading to the sister's house to search her place, I heard Tony ask Abby '_Abs, do you know where Kate has her tat?' _ And I saw Abby smile knowingly. Truth is, Abby only found out when Tony asked. She just wanted to make him mad. Then, later, after we arrested the sister and her mother, we were at the bullpen when Tony brought up my tattoo again.

"_It's not a rose,"_ Gibbs revealed.

I froze. What did he say?

"_He doesn't know,"_ I told Tony and Abby, _"He's lying just like he did about the digitalis! Tell them. GIBBS!"_

He didn't say anything. They both assumed Gibbs broke his own rule and that we were together. Both Abby and Tony looked surprised.

Later that night, I called my mother. On a hunch, I asked her if she or Dad knew anyone with the last name of Gibbs. All she said was, _"Oh, goodness."_

She explained to me that my father's best friend was Leroy Jethro Gibbs. I was born right before he enlisted in the corps and my parents named him my godfather. Gibbs tried to get my dad to join too, but Daddy '_didn't want to leave his baby girl behind'._

I had never met him. Until, obviously, I started working at NCIS. Gibbs had only gone to see my parents once since his enlistment and I wasn't able to come. I was still on the president's detail and he was in Kuwait at the time.

But, supposedly, my family was telling stories about me and my sister accidentally told them about my tattoo.

When my little sister turned twenty-one, I took her out for a night on the town. I was the designated driver but we got carried away and decided to get some body art.

That's when I realized he does know. I still can't figure out why my parents or Gibbs never told me he was my godfather. But, that's just normal Gibbs.

So, that same night, someone knocked on the door of my apartment. I opened it to see Tony DiNozzo, grinning from ear to ear.

"Is it a daisy?"

"Oh, will you drop it?" I was starting to get frustrated.

He brushed right past me, set his coat by the closet, plopped himself down on my little couch, motioned for me to sit with him, and smiled at me. God I love that smile.

I sat down next to him on the love seat (Now I know why they call it that).

"Do you really want to know?" I whispered as I leaned closer to him.

He looked very surprised when I asked him that, but quickly wiped that look off his face and leaned closer.

"You know that I do."

Our lips were mere inches apart. I took a chance and made the next move. I kissed him, ever so slightly. Just so our lips barely touched. As I pulled away, I could feel his warm sweet breath on my lips.

He came in for more and I didn't stop him. It carried on like that for a while, just us lazily kissing each other.

When I pulled back, I asked, "Do you really want to know what it is?"

Tony just grinned and nodded.

"C'mon. I'll show you," I said quietly as I stood up, holding his hands in mine, pulling him toward my room.

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So, that's how all of this commotion started.

I've been pacing around this bathroom for almost five minutes.

See, that happened months ago. You know, the call to my mother and Tony showing up at my place. Those random nights turned into actual dates and those resulted in him moving in.

When Gibbs found out, he wasn't necessarily happy. One: we broke rule number twelve and Two: ever since I found out that he's my godfather, he's become very over protective.

And eventually, moving in resulted in a proposal. And not long after that, I became Mrs. Caitlin DiNozzo.

So, now, here I am, pacing in the bathroom down the hall from Abby's lab and praying to God that no one comes in. I keep fumbling with my wedding ring, a small gold band with diamonds set inside. I'm nervous. It's become a nervous habit, messing with my ring. I know that no matter what the outcome is, I'll be OK. Tony will love me no matter what.

The five minutes is up and I pick up that little white stick with the now blue tip.

I rush to tell Abby and give her the good news. As she congratulates me, I let my mind wander off to my husband.

He'll be a great dad

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That was very random. I was watching my DVDs of NCIS yesterday and this idea just popped in my head.


	2. Christmas with the Todd Family and Gibbs

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or its characters. But, you know, my birthday is coming up and... Hey, I can dream, right!

This chapter is from Tony and Kate's POV.

Author's Note: Someone suggested that I continue with this story and should write about how protective Gibbs is. Well, I took her suggestion and even extended it farther.

A/N 2: I don't know where Kate is really from, so I did some research and just randomly picked a place (Mount Vernon, Ohio). I don't know how big the town really is but I'm portraying it as a small town, no bigger than probably 2,000 people.

And now...the chapter!

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Now, Kate told you earlier about Gibbs being her godfather but she didn't tell you that since he lives in Ohio, he kinda took his place. Since her father wasn't around to 'protect' her, Gibbs did.

The night of our first date was the worst. Granted, it was nerve wracking because every time I'd pick Kate up, he'd either be with her in her apartment or watching us from his car in the parking lot of her apartment complex.

OK, anyway, our first date:

_Flash back:_

_I drove over to Kate's apartment to pick her up for dinner and a movie. I was kinda nervous. I had never really hung out with Kate outside of work. _

_I had to climb four flights of stairs because the elevator in her building was down for repair. _

_I knocked on the door three times. I wasn't sure what she'd say or what I'd say. _

_I was pacing around when I heard the door open. _

"_Hey, um, you ready to-" I started but it wasn't Kate who answered. It was Gibbs. And if I thought I was nervous before...he made it worse._

"_Uh, Boss, what are you doing at Kate's apartment?"_

_  
"Well, DiNozzo, Katie is my goddaughter. She told me that you were picking her up tonight and I just wanted to see her off."_

"_She's...your god...daughter?" I was so confused._

"_Gibbs! What are you doing!" Kate came around a corner looking gorgeous._

"_Just talkin' to DiNozzo," he said casually._

"_Go home Gibbs. Work on your boat. We'll see you tomorrow."_

"_OK, you kids have fun." Gibbs walked down the stairs while Kate and I watched him leave._

_End of Flash back_

And that's basically how it went for the rest of our dates. Oh, and the first date: It was great. I shouldn't have been nervous.

And then Christmas rolled around. She wanted me to meet her folks. Oh, boy.

She was from Ohio. We drove. Don't ask me why we didn't fly. It was Kate's idea to drive. I love her but sitting in a car with her for God knows how long to Mount Vernon sucked.

But, again, I was nervous. Her parents are extremely religious. Kate had gone to a private catholic school and her parents still thought she was a virgin. Thing was: she wasn't, we were living together (which I guess is a sin or something) and I was going to ask her father for permission to ask her to marry me.

We finally pulled up to a farm house on the outskirts of Mount Vernon. There were five other cars in the driveway. Kate had four siblings. One was a rental car and the others were vans with child seats in the back. She had plenty of nieces and nephews. I wondered who else was there.

We walked up to the front door and Kate turned around.

"You ready?" she asked me.

I nodded and we went inside. It was a cute little house. We took off our coats and shoes and left them by the door. We walked out of the entryway, through the dinning room and into the living room.

"Aunt Katie!" a little girl screamed.

"Hey Claire! How are you, Girlie?"

"Fine. Who's that?" Claire pointed to me. She was a cute little blonde with tight ringlet curls.

"That is my friend, Tony," Kate answered.

"Aunt Katie!" Six more kids ran at Kate.

"Hey guys. Are you ready for Santa to bring your presents?" She asked enthusiastically. It was the 23rd. Apparently, it was a Todd family tradition to spend two days at her parents' house until Christmas day arrived.

Their responses varied. "Good." "Fine." "Great!" "OK." but all of ended in "Who's that?"

"This is Tony," Kate said with a smile.

"Are you getting married?"

"Is he gonna be our uncle?"

"You need to get married soon, Aunt Katie. Grandma is losing hope for you. That's what she told my mom."

"Well, Adam, Grandma tends to lose hope for a lot of things," Kate said matter-of-factly.

Kids can be so honest. Too honest.

"OK! Everyone line up in order!" Kate said after a few seconds.

The seven kids raced around, rearranging themselves.

"Alright, now introduce yourselves to Tony. Let's see what Grandpa's taught you," Kate ordered.

"I'm Adam and I'm ten," a boy said. He had brown, wavy hair and glasses.

"I'm Derek and I'm nine years old," a tall blond boy said next. He was taller than the oldest boy.

"My name's Jeremy. I'm eight." Jeremy was short for his age and he had bright red hair.

"I'm Patrick and this is Kelsey. We're both six but I'm a few months older," a boy with short brown hair replied. The girl next to him had light brown hair and bright green eyes.

"I'm Emma," a little girl with straight red hair said.

"And..." Kate prompted.

"And I'm five!" She said ecstatically, holding out a hand with all five fingers extended.

I laughed.

"I'm Claire," the last girl said quietly, "and I'm four."

"I believe we have already met," I said as I bent down to her eye level.

"Aunt Katie, he's funny!" Claire squealed.

"Trust me, Girlie, you have no idea!"

I stood up to look at Kate.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I smiled and took a step closer.

We both forgot that those kids were still watching.

"You know what I mean!" She grinned and moved closer as well.

I kissed her and pulled back only because I heard seven kids scream "EWW!"

Kate laughed and picked up Emma to give her a kiss. She squirmed away from Kate and giggled as she ran away. All the kids went back to playing with their toys.

"They all forgot a step. We're having a family reunion soon and my dad has been teaching them proper introductions. They were supposed to say who they belong to. Adam and Kelsey are Robert and Susie's. Rob's my oldest brother. Derek and Patrick are John and Julie's kids. John is my next brother. Jeremy and Emma are David and Carolyn's. David is my youngest brother but he's older than me. And Emily is my younger sister. She married Ted and Claire is theirs. Emily's pregnant again, due in four months."

This was all too much for me to take in all at once. I had to slow down and go through it in my head. I needed a way to remember all of it.

"Caitlin! How are you! Oh, I've missed you so much! Your father and I have been worried sick about you. You never call-" Kate's mother stopped short when she saw me, "And who is this? You didn't tell me you were bringing someone home! This must be serious. You've only brought... oh, how many men have you brought home. Not many, mind you..."

"MOTHER!" Kate said through gritted teeth, "Mom, this is Tony."

"Oh, so this is Tony," She said louder than she needed to, "Caitlin has told me so much about you!"

Kate blushed furiously.

"Oh, come on, let's go into the kitchen. Your brothers and sister will want to meet Tony."

Kate mouthed '_I'm Sorry_' and we followed her mother.

Ten other people were in the kitchen, seated around the table and leaning against counters. They were talking and suddenly became quiet when we walked in.

"Todd! DiNozzo! What the heck took you so long! Did ya drive or something?"

"GIBBS!" Kate and I said simultaneously, "what are you doing here?"

"Your folks invited me for Christmas. Is that a problem?" He gave us one of his famous looks that told us that we better answer right or we'd get one of those hard slaps on the back of the head.

"No, Boss."

"There's no problem, Sir."

"Good."

Her family seemed to snigger when we got 'yelled' at by Gibbs. I was introduced to her family. Her father seemed nice and my nerves about asking him for Kate's hand seemed to be melting away. About two hours after we arrived, Elizabeth, Kate's mother, started talking about local people and friends.

"Oh, Caitlin, you remember that girl who was on your homecoming court that you just couldn't stand, right? Oh, what was her name?"

"You were on the homecoming court?" I asked. I had a hard time picturing Kate Todd taking part in homecoming activities in her high school years.

Kate looked at me and opened her mouth to speak when her mom answered for her.

"For three years. Once in the court and twice as Queen. She was Queen her junior and senior years. And, she was senior prom queen. Anyways, Caitlin, what was her name?"

"Shelly Carver," Kate answered dryly.

"Oh, yes, that's right. She and Eric Peters just had a baby. They're not married yet, but the baby is just adorable. And Margaret Ann, our old neighbor, got married to some out-of-towner. He's coming into a great deal of money. Oh, and, Mary Elizabeth is the new town doctor. And Samuel Robbins wanted me to say hello. He's such a nice boy, Caitlin, why don't you give him a chance?" Elizabeth pleaded.

"Mom! I don't live here anymore. And besides, I have a good boyfriend," Kate defended herself.

It made me grin knowing that boyfriend was me. But Gibbs just glared at me.

"Katie, he still calls asking for you," James, her father, added.

I must have looked confused.

"Sam Robbins was my senior prom date. They announced the winners half way through the night. He wasn't king and I didn't see him the rest of the night," Kate explained to me.

"Oh," I said.

"He's not married yet," her mother announced, "his parents are losing hope."

Kate rolled her eyes.

There were a few minutes of silence while we listened to her nieces and nephews playing with their toys.

"So, Tony, where did you grow up?" James asked me. I started sweating bullets. I told him where I grew up and hoped he wouldn't ask me anymore questions.

Well, he kept drilling me. And Gibbs was getting some obvious pleasure watching me sweat it out. I wonder if I was doing OK, you know, passing the test and hoping that when I asked him about Kate that he wouldn't hesitate. But I had a feeling that I would have to ask Gibbs too.

"So, Tony, have you ever been tested for STDs?"

"DAD! What the hell kind of question is that? You've never asked that one before! No more questions!"

"Caitlin! Watch your language!" her mother scolded her.

"I'm just kidding! Calm down, Katie," James laughed.

I calmed down and glanced over at Gibbs. He was laughing. What a rare sight.

"Aunt Katie, Aunt Katie!" Claire came running into the kitchen. She already had her snow gear on. The pants, coat, boots, hat, scarf, the whole works.

"What's up, Girlie?" Kate said to her niece.

" It's snowing, Aunt Katie! Will you come make a snowman with me?"

Kate looked at me. I smiled and nodded her on.

"Alright, let's go!" Kate put on her coat, shoes and scarf and went out side. Her brothers and sister and their spouses went outside to watch their children play. Her parents, Gibbs and I stayed inside. I decided if I didn't ask her father now, I'd be to chicken later and I'd never do it.

"Um, Mr. Todd, can I talk to you?"

"Sure."

I motioned for us to go into the other room. He followed.

"I would like to ask for your permission to ask Kate to marry me." I came out with it right way. I didn't want to beat around the bush.

"Really?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Wow. Uh, you know, you seem like a great guy. Hold on, just a second. Jethro, come here!"

Oh, man! What did I get myself into?

"Jethro, you will never guess what Tony just asked me," James told Gibbs while smiling.

"He wants to marry Katie."

"Or you will guess. How do you do that?"

"He does that to me too, Mr. Todd. I hate it," Tony consoled.

"Well, Jethro, what do you think? Is Tony good enough for Katie?" James looked to his friend.

"DiNozzo is better than some of the guys Kate has dated in the past," Gibbs confided.

"But, you've seen his confidential record. What do you think?"

Gibbs smiled.

"He'll do just fine."

"There's your answer, Tony. Good luck."

I was amazed that such a little question could make me so nervous.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled. I was staring off into space. "You got a ring?"

"Uh, yeah, Boss." I pulled a little black box out of my pocket and opened it to show the older men.

It was a little silver band with three diamonds cut like emeralds.

"Wow," was the only thing both men could say.

"How long did you save for that, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked still staring at the ring.

"Couple of months."

"Grandpa! Come look at the snowman Aunt Katie and I made!" Claire screamed.

"Alright, Girlie, let's go."

I put the ring back in my pocket quickly before Kate came inside.

I went into the kitchen to find Kate already sitting there drinking some hot chocolate.

"Have fun?"

Kate was soaked from the melted snow.

"Yeah, those kids are fun."

I looked at her. She was missing something.

"Where's your scarf?"

Kate laughed.

"The snowman is borrowing it. Claire was afraid he'd be cold."

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Now it's Christmas Eve. I wanted to propose tonight. Her father told her mother about her conversation and she told Kate's siblings. And that was at ten this morning. Now it's two PM, so I'll bet most of the town knows by now that some guy from out of town will be proposing to little Katie Todd.

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**Kate's POV**

My family has been acting very weird around me today. And I don't know if it's just me or what. It might be because I brought Tony home.

Before my nieces and nephews went to bed, they put cookies and milk out for Santa. So were sitting around the kitchen table eating Santa's cookies.

Tony looked a little pale.

"Tony? You OK?"

He looked at me, "Yeah, I just need some fresh air."

"Come with me?" He asked as he stood up.

I stood up and grabbed my coat.

We walked outside into the cold night air. It was a beautiful night; the stars and moon were out. The sharp air pierced my lungs at I walked down the front steps.

"Kate?"

"Yeah?"

He was making me nervous.

"I wanted to give you your present tonight."

He handed me a box. For the size of the box, it could only be one of two things. Earrings or…

I walked back up the front steps the sit on the bench on the porch. Tony sat next to me.

I pulled the paper off the box and opened it. I looked at the contents and then at Tony.

"Will you marry me, Kate?"

I didn't say yes.

I just pulled him into the most breath taking kiss ever.

Tony smiled and said, "Marry Christmas, Kate."

He kissed me again and I pulled back to see my whole family (including Gibbs) staring out a window watching me kiss my fiancée. As soon as I looked at them, they all ran back to the kitchen.

Tony slipped the ring on my finger and we went back inside.

As Tony opened the screen door, he said, "C'mon, Katie, its cold out!"

"DiNozzo, we may be getting married but you still can't call me Katie!"

He looked confused, "Why?"

I just laughed.

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I'm sorry for the long wait. I've been staying with my dad and he doesn't have a computer. I had to go to my grandma's house to use hers. I post the next chapter as soon as I can (Even thought this was an intended oneshot. All my oneshots turn into multiple chapter fics ;)


	3. Paperwork

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or its characters.

A/N: I am terribly sorry for taking so long to update. I kind of forgot about this story and when I remembered I needed to update, I got stuck on it.

And, personally, I think some of the characters seem **out of character** but you make that call.

The wedding and reception take place in this chapter. I put some wedding traditions in but I'm not sure if everyone understands or does them. All I know is that my family always does them at weddings. I know most of the meanings of the traditions and if anyone wants to know, all you have to do is ask and I'll tell you.

The first part is in Kate's POV and the rest is McGee's POV. I'll let you know when the switch happens.

Oh and the thing that takes place between Kate and Tony at their reception really happened to my cousin at her wedding. I just modified it to the characters.

OK, seriously, enough of me.

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**Kate's POV**

So about nine months after Christmas, Tony and I got married in the little church I grew up attending. Abby, Ducky and McGee came in from D.C. for the wedding.

The wedding went great. But, like any wedding, there were a few problems. My mother left my veil at her house and had to go back and get it. According to Gibbs, Tony lost the rings. They ran around the church looking for them. Rob and Susie even went back to the house and turned everything upside down looking for them. Turns out, Tony had them in his pocket the whole time. Emma and Claire were the flower girls, but, being four and five, walking in front of all of those people can be a little scary, so Kelsey helped them down the aisle.

But all things considered, things went smoothly.

And the reception was fun. Tony never was much of a dancer. He kept stepping on my feet. He was so embarrassed. It was so cute. Ducky danced with me for three songs before he finished a story about a girl he once proposed to when he was five. Abby caught the bouquet when I threw it. And when it was time for Tony to pull the garter off my leg, he stayed in the frills of my dress for a while after the garter was off, trying to tickle me and make me laugh.

"What are you doing, DiNozzo?" I shouted through my giggles.

"I don't see you in a dress very often, so I'm taking advantage!"

I kicked him and he fell backwards onto the hard dance floor of the reception hall. I stood up and went over to him. I placed a foot on his chest.

"Try that again, and you won't get _ANY_ the whole honeymoon."

All of the guys started laughing and making fun of Tony.

After that, my father convinced my nephew, Adam, to dance with me during the Dollar Dance.

As we were dancing, Adam said, "You know, Aunt Katie, Grandma's happy that you're married now."

"Is she?" I asked, amused.

"Yeah, but she said if you and Tony, I mean, Uncle Tony don't have any kids soon, it'll be too late. She's losing hope for you again."

All I did was laugh. I still want to know how he knows all this.

The next morning we left for our honeymoon in the Bahamas. I'll spare you the details of that week but I'm sure Tony will…um… fill you in sometime.

Anyway, so we just got back and now I have to tell Gibbs that I'll need some time off, that I'll be doing paperwork for god-knows-how-long, and that I'm pregnant.

I have to tell Tony, too. I wonder how he'll react. He could be his old self and make some outrageous comment that'll earn him a smack on the head and a week on the couch or he could well do something uncharacteristic of him. Ever since we started dating, he's changed a lot. He's getting better at saying 'woman' instead of 'chick'. He's also been really romantic: he'll leave me funny little notes in the most random places like the refrigerator or my sock drawer or he'll run to the store after dinner and pick up a bouquet of flowers just because. Just little things like that, things you normally wouldn't think Tony would do.

I leave Abby's lab to go back to my desk and finish a report. I find Gibbs drinking his sixth cup of coffee for the day, Tony typing away on his computer and McGee organizing some files.

How do I tell them? Do I wait until tonight to tell Tony? Or should I tell Gibbs first? Maybe I should tell all three of them now? Oh, I'm so confused.

So I go sit down and I must look sick or something because Tony says, "Kate? You okay?"

At his words, Gibbs and McGee look up at me.

"I'm fine," I insist. I turn on my computer to finish the report and busy myself to convince my husband and co-workers. I pull out my sketchbook and start to draw a scene of Tony on a beach in the Bahamas while I wait for my computer to turn on.

"Whatcha' drawin', Katie?" Gibbs says as he sneaks up on me.

"Gibbs," I say as if to scold him for using the nickname only my father can use. Tony walks over to my desk and kneels down to my eye level and Gibbs backs off a bit.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Gibbs tenses up at the use of the endearment and the worry and anxiety in Tony's voice is evident.

I look over at McGee. He's trying so hard to eavesdrop without being obvious.

"Really, I'm fine," I try to persuade them. They don't believe me. "I am," I add. I'm getting more frustrated. I put my sketch book away and begin typing my report. They don't leave, so I ignore them.

Minutes go by and Gibbs and Tony are still standing at my desk.

"You really want to know?" I ask, giving up on finishing my report with the two of them hovering.

They both nod and McGee looks amused.

"Come here," I reply and walk out from behind my desk over to a private corner. I see McGee stand up to see what happens next.

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**McGee's POV**

I stand up to see how Gibbs will react to what ever news Kate is going to give them. As Kate starts talking, Tony's expression goes from worried to shocked and Gibbs goes from concerned to…happy. Wow, he's smiling. I wonder what she said. Kate starts walking back and I sit down before she notices. She has a smug look on her face.

"Remember, honey," she calls back over her shoulder, "DiNozzos do not pass out!"

"What's going on?" I ask.

She gives me a big grin and says, "I'm pregnant, McGee."

I stare at Kate in disbelief and then realize Gibbs and Tony are back.

Gibbs is still smiling and is rummaging though old files, looking for something. Tony is standing with Kate, kissing her with a hand on her stomach.

"DiNozzo! McGee! Back to work! Kate, paperwork! Now!" Gibbs slams a big stack of files and leave papers on her desk.

Glad to know this baby won't make Gibbs soft. Just very overprotective of its mother.

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Okay: all done. I have totally run out of ideas for the rest of it. And unless you can help, I've listed the story as complete. So tell me what you think and if and how I should continue.

By the way: I am not the greatest at writing in present tense, so please excuse any mistakes.


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